Ministry to keep exploring possibility of council elections
PETALING JAYA: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will continue to study the implementation of local council elections despite concerns expressed by the Prime Minister that they might cause race-related conflict.
Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said while she noted Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s concerns, it was important to continue exploring new and suitable methods to be implemented.
“We will continue with the study on the implementation as a possible option in improving government administration,” she said in a statement yesterday.
The last local council election was held in 1963. The next round, which was supposed to be held the following year, was suspended.
The official reason given by the federal government then was Indonesia’s confrontation with Malaysia.
The suspension, which was supposed to be temporary, became permanent in 1976 when Parliament passed the Local Government Act which only provided for appointed councillors, abolishing local government elections altogether.
Expressing its disappointment, electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 called the announcement ill-advised and a step back in the country’s further democratisation.
“The Pakatan Harapan government should have encouraged dis- cussion and debates on the merits of restoring local government elections.
“More importantly, it should consult various stakeholders as a democratic process before making any official decision or public announcement,” it said, adding that concerns about racial conflict and the urbanrural divide were speculative.
“In fact, we have not experienced any racial conflict following changes of state governments since 2008, the change of federal government this year as well as during the Bersih and Anti-Icerd rallies.
“The government should give due recognition to the Malaysian public, who are rational and nonviolence oriented,” it said.
It added that it was not true that local elections would be dominated by non-Malays as the demography in urban areas had changed.
It said according to 2010 census data, the Malay population in Kuala Lumpur now stood at 49.5%, outnumbering the Chinese at 43.2%.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said it would keep pushing for local council elections, even though it was not part of Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto.
“Of course we’ll continue to push it. But we have to look at two levels.
“First, you need to deliver on the promises of the manifesto and second, to convince Pakatan to agree to local government elections,” he said.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia commissioner Jerald Joseph ( pic) said local council elections would improve the accountability and performance of local governments.
He said elected councillors would feel more obliged to ensure that their councils met the expectations of ratepayers as non-performers could be more easily removed via the ballot box.
Some Malaysians took to social media to question why local council elections could not be held.
“Malaysia Baru is all about the power of democracy. We’re looking at better representation for the people. Why not,” Hazwan Ridhwa (@HazwanRidhwa) tweeted.
Another said local council elections should be allowed with strict conditions imposed.
“There should be an anti-racial discrimination law,” said Twitter user Eagle Art (@ArtAththuur).